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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—A ninth-inning rally attempt fell short Wednesday for the University of Evansville baseball team, as Cal State Northridge closer Brian Slover was able to strike out UE sophomores Cody Fick and Nate Smith with the potential tying run in scoring position in the ninth inning to seal a 9-8 victory for the Matadors at Matador Stadium in Northridge, California.
Down 9-6 going into the ninth inning, UE loaded the bases with no one out, as freshman second baseman Trentt Copeland and junior outfielder Alex Acheson opened the frame with back-to-back walks before senior outfielder Jim Viscomi followed with a single to chase Cal State Northridge reliever Jimmy Jolicoeur.
UE sophomore designated hitter Greg Wallace was able to work an RBI ground out off of Slover to cut the deficit to 9-7. The Purple Aces were able to trim the deficit to 9-8 on a wild pitch with runners on second and third following a Slover strike out of Fick. Slover was able to bear down though with Viscomi on third base representing the potential tying run to strike out Smith to end the threat and earn his second save of the young season.
“We fell behind early today, but kept battling and put ourselves into a position to possibly tie the game in the ninth inning,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “Credit their closer though. He came in and made some tough pitches to get guys out and earn the save.
“I really liked how we battled back and competed though today. We still need to do a better job of taking care of the baseball and competing better with two strikes in adverse conditions, but guys are starting to learn what it takes. Hopefully, we can continue to learn and get better this weekend at Pepperdine.”
Acheson and Fick paced the UE offense with two hits each, while Acheson, Copeland, and senior shortstop Peter Tountas all recorded two RBI each. Designated hitter John Parham and outfielder Richard Cates paced a 13-hit attack for Northridge with three hits each. They ignited the Matador offense with back-to-back hits in the first inning to key a four-run frame off of UE starter Keegan Dennis (0-1). Starter Paul Tremlin (1-0) and six relievers would make the four-run frame stand up in the center of the diamond for Northridge.
With the victory, Cal State Northridge improves to 5-4 on the season. Evansville, meanwhile, slips to 2-5 after the two-game series split at Northridge. Evansville will continue its week-long tour of California on Thursday, as the Purple Aces will travel to Malibu, California to open up a three-day, four-game series at No. 10 Pepperdine (6-2). Evansville and Pepperdine will meet in single games on both Thursday and Friday afternoon, 4:00 p.m. central time, before concluding the four-game series on Saturday with a 12:00 p.m. central time doubleheader.
